A number of smart kitchen systems have been proposed to monitor food items. A first system includes a refrigerator with a built-in computer which scans the bar code on food packages. The computer formulates suggestions for meals and prints recipes based on the contents of the refrigerator. Further, the computer automatically forms shopping lists and checks the Internet for daily specials on groceries.
The task of manually scanning the bar code on each food package introduces additional labor to the process of loading and unloading the refrigerator. On occasion, more than one attempt may be required to successfully read a bar code on the food item, as may be witnessed from the use of bar code readers in supermarkets and department stores.
A second system utilizes a scannable label affixed to items to be identified. Items stored in a cupboard or a refrigerator are registered using the label and placed on a home inventory list. An item is scratched from the list when consumed or removed from the cupboard or the refrigerator. The inventory list is cross-referenced with a meeting calendar to form a shopping list.